Spanish society does not know in depth about pollution. 82.9% say they are “very aware” of CO2 emissions in transport, but only a third are clear about what net emissions mean. These are the latest results of the survey on the perception of new mobility technologies in transport, prepared by the consulting firm GAD3, known for its electoral polls.
The conclusion is not favorable, since it shows that there is still a significant sector of the population (32%) that is not very familiar with the new modes of propulsion. This, they maintain, has translated into delaying the decision to purchase a vehicle (48.8%), which has repercussions in a slower renewal of the mobile fleet —according to the most recent data from the national association of manufacturers, the current average is 13.8 years— and in a slowdown in the decarbonisation process, the objective towards which the European Parliament is advancing for the year 2050.
87.1% of Spaniards think CO2 is toxic, which, according to GAD3, «reveals the lack of knowledge of the population». Carbon dioxide is a gas that is not harmful to humans, it is simply not useful for the body, since it occupies the space of oxygen and becomes more difficult to breathe.
The truly harmful emissions are those of nitrogen oxides (NOx), caused mainly by old diesel engines, and those of solid particles, the product of filters in poor condition and the simple fact of driving, even with an electric car. In the survey, 43% and 49% of the population did not know, respectively, its pernicious effect on health.
However, CO2 is associated with global warming and it is this that is sought to be reduced, for example, through fines for manufacturers that exceed the threshold of 95 grams per kilometer.
an accounting issue
More than half of the population does not know that the only thing that is counted in terms of carbon, by manufacturers, is what is emitted through the exhaust pipe. This, starting next year, will no longer be the case.
The European Union will introduce from 2023 the requirement for financial entities to declare their indirect emissions, with the intention of discouraging investment in carbon-intensive industries. This, in the words of the environmental organization Transport and Environment (T&E), “is a ticking time bomb for the car industry.”
According to the association’s estimates, 98% of manufacturers’ emissions come precisely from the use of their cars —what the EU would consider “indirect”, those generated in the industrial process being direct. However, they maintain that the builders start from an erroneous base in your calculations and that the real emissions are much higher than those declared, something that could become “the next big automotive scandal.”
To arrive at their results, manufacturers use information such as the size of their vehicles, the places where they are driven or the useful life of their models. Toyota, for example, considers its vehicles soil is circulating for 100,000 km. At the other extreme, Stellantis uses 240,000 km, while Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen or the Hyundai Group calculate it at around 200,000 km.
According to the International Council on Clean Transport (ICCT), the emissions registered in the WLTP homologation – which came into force in 2021 to more accurately reflect real driving conditions – are 14% more benign than the real ones.
One of the problems that manufacturers face is having different limitations in the regions. While an American buyer wants a pick-up with a V8 engine, in Europe they could not sell it. Thus, T&E has taken emissions averages (based on 2020 figures) from each manufacturer, unifying them in a table.
According to the brands themselves, their cars emit an average of 45 tons of CO2 throughout their useful life, however, this is 51% more optimistic than the organization’s calculations, which estimate the minimum at 68 tons. of CO2.
neutral emissions
Much of the presentation of the GAD3 study had to do with bringing the alternative means of propulsion to the students of the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Although the electric car is already a reality, barely a third of the population is familiar with engines such as hydrogen, gas or synthetic fuels.
In her presentation on the latter, Repsol’s Product Design Manager, Dolores Cardenas, spoke of the possibility of using advanced biofuels as an alternative to reduce emissions from the combustion fleet. According to the oil company, these could represent a saving of 90% of CO2. In addition, work is being done on synthetic fuel refineries that would have the capacity to recover 10% of carbon emissions.
Developing this technology would be key to guaranteeing the existence of thermal engines beyond 2035. However, no refinery for this type of fuel has yet been built —it is estimated that the first will arrive in 2025—, and T&E estimates that production of 2035 It will only be enough for 2% of the European mobile fleet, that is: five million cars.